tanama river adventures

Had been to the Tanama River before but not with Tanama River Adventures, and I have to say that it was quite an experience. Fernando, the owner, and BJ his assistant were extraordinary guides. They explained and pointed at the different flora, fauna (spiders and bats), fossils, and rock formations. The best part was a 120 feet rappel from the edge of one cave opening into a huge cathedral nave like cave with a river running through it. Then the river walk, refreshing. To close the experience, an arroz con habichuelas in familia lunch with Fernando and BJ. Will do it again.

I’ve always loved Puerto Rico, but it wasn’t until this recent trip that I discovered why Puerto Rico is called The Island of Enchantment. My friend and I wanted to explore the rainforests and mountain areas. We came across the Tanama River Adventures website and liked every tour option they had to offer, so we decided to make reservations. I received a response from Fernando who was very thorough and quick to respond to all of my questions. I had been on many hikes before and wasn’t expecting this to be any different. Finding the location was a bit tricky but it was well worth what we were about to experience. We were met by the extremely friendly Omar and BJ who would be our guides for the next few hours. Omar and BJ were very attentive ensuring our safety from the moment the adventure began. After putting on our gear Omar began the tour with a brief history lesson of Puerto Rico and a few things we would be seeing on our adventure such as the different rock formations. We hadn’t even left the office yet and I was already impressed!!! He even stopped to educate us on a few plants in the area before we got to the river. Every step of the way he took time to teach us about the land and his love for Puerto Rico. He is extremely knowledgeable and was always ready to answer any question we had. You can tell he truly enjoys sharing all that he knows. The edifying moments for me was hearing about Puerto Rico’s history, culture and the natives. I had so much fun seeing bats for the first time, walking through pitch black caves, playing in waterfalls, trekking and sometimes swimming through parts of the river just to get to our next destination. But this is not your typical hike/rafting/cave tubing/rappelling adventure. While you do get all of those things you also get something that will resonate with you long after it’s over. The entire adventure was more than I could have imagined, and I highly recommend Tanama River Adventures to any and everyone.Good Job guys! I’ll be back for Option 5 

Our group of five and another delightful couple had a wonderful experience with this family owned business. Very knowledgeable and patient. We did option 3 and most of us had never rapelled before and now want to do more. Beautiful views and even had a delicious lunch after made by the wife. Would highly recommend it!! Very reasonable cost and spent considerable time exploring at a leisurely pace.

I had the most amazing experience during my last visit to PR, thanks to Tanama River Adventures. I was born and raised in PR and a I visit the island very often, but on my last trip this past weekend I wanted to do something different and explore the mountain area of the island, and I came across this company during my search for things to do in Utuado. I called and made my reservation over the phone with Fernando in just 3 minutes. The day of the adventure, we were met by the entire staff and they made us feel like family. Our tour guide Omar was very informative, fun and super friendly since the initial briefing at the departing location all the way through the entire adventure. I have never seen a person more passionate about a job than Omar. You can tell he enjoys what he does and that he is so happy and proud of teaching people about all the great things PR has to offer. He will take the time to explain everything and to answer any question you may have. One thing I like the most about the entire staff, is that they were thinking about the safety of the entire group at all times and everything was well organized. In our group we had from a 11 yr old kid all the way to people in their 40's and we were all able to do the activities during the adventure like rappelling, hiking, jumping into the river, body rafting and much more!!. At the end of the adventure they took us to a small and super delicious restaurant where you can enjoy great Puertorrican food and share experiences and get to know better the people that you just spent the entire morning, which I think was super nice! It is an experience that you will remember for the rest of your life, and it was so amazing that I will be going back and do Option 5 for sure. I will recommend this company to anyone and it is a must if you visit PR.

Amazing AMAZING experience and so much better than expected and mind you this is coming from someone who hikes often and visits Puerto Rico just as often as I’m from the west part of the island. However on this trip I wanted to try something different and looked into some adventurous activities for an adrenaline junkie and I came across Tanama River Adventures so I signed up and went this past Wed with my best friend and did option 3 ((next time FOR SURE I’m doing option 5!)).Our tour guide and nature expert was Omar and he was amazing. You always hear about people that love their job so much that they don’t consider it work, but have you ever met such a person??? We have, in Omar… he is extremely knowable about his surrounding and the great outdoors and the island itself and is very passionate about it. In the middle of an amazing adventure he took the time to explain the local plants, the caves, rock formation, evolution of rock/cave formation over time and history about the island and it’s native people… and throughout all this you did not want to miss out on anything he had to say! This is not just a job for him or the people that are part of the Tanama River Adventure team, it’s a way of life for them and it’s so inspiring. The whole team is amazing and friendly. They are dedicated in showing and sharing with you what they are so passionate about all while making you feel like family!Getting there was a bit tricky, do-able but a bit tricky, my house is in San Sebastian North West of the Island and about an 45 min from the town of Utuado and gave myself a 2 hour head start which was needed as I took a few wrong turns BUT I made it with enough time =) IF you are coming from the San Juan area which is north east of the island I would give your self a 4 hour head start only because there is a lot of traffic leaving the San Juan area and if you are not familiar with the country side of Puerto Rico (some parts are a bit rugged) you are going to want to give yourself some extra time. **Please don’t let the 4 hour head start discourage you as this is something you are NOT going to want to miss out on… your eyes will have a feast with all the beauty and untapped wilderness you will be surrounded by and it is worth the drive!!!If you want an adventure, a true and real one, this is it, if you are an armature or an expert that’s fine as they have different options that will cater to what you are looking for, but don’t pass this up if you are on the island you must go!!!! You will not be disappointed.

This was by far one of the best experiences of our vacation. After much research I had decided to book with Tanama River Adventures and am so pleased they are the outfit we decided on. Booking took place via email with the owner Fernando. He was quick to respond and seemed friendly and personable even through his emails. We drove from Manati to Utuado for the tour. The drive can be a bit scary with narrow roads and quickly oncoming traffic around blind corners. There was even a police presence on one particularly bad corner that had a guardrail damaged to prevent drivers from going off the side of the mountain. Once we found the tour headquarters we discovered that there was a snafu with our booking. Another group that was originally going on the same day as us had rescheduled for later in the week and Fernando had thought we were them and as such was not prepared to take a tour out that day. This was quickly rectified with a call to his brother in law for backup and a very positive attitude and we suited up for a private tour. After receiving all of our protective gear we jumped into the back of an open truck and proceeded up the mountain to our starting point. It had been fairly rainy and the trail was muddy and slippery. But getting muddy just added to the experience! We soon arrived at the rappelling point and got into our additional gear to rappel off the side of the mountain cave into the river area below. Once down at the river area we did a bit of body rafting in an area of particular current (fun but easy to get banged up on the rocks if you are as uncoordinated as I must be!). We then began a trek through the river. The water was refreshingly cold on a warm day. It was very murky and orange from the clay, but this didn't detract from the fun and beauty of the area. At some points where we had to cross the river the current was a bit strong and easy to get knocked off your feet, but at no time did I feel in any danger or unable to manage. We soon came upon the tubes and paddled with our arms to a cave. Unfortunately some poor weather before had caused a bunch of debris to fill up in the cave and prevent us from tubing all the way through. After returning our tubes we proceeded to hike back to the starting point. According to Fernando we traveled about 5 miles. Along the way we tried some seedy citrus fruit growing along the path. After a truck ride back to the tour headquarters we changed into dry clothes and Fernando took us to a small restaurant down the road where we enjoyed some PR cuisine, including some amazing flan!Our tour guides Fernando and his brother in law Bija were wonderful. Bija didn't speak much English but he had a great attitude and always a friendly smile and a hand to help where the river current was strong. Fernando clearly is living his calling in life. He seemed so passionate about the environment and was full of information about the history of the area and conservation. I would highly recommend this tour operator to anyone traveling in this area and we wouldn't hesitate to book with him again if in the area.

This is the type of place I would recommend for my family (blood or not) who seek out to connect with nature and really understand the environment. Fernando shares more than knowledge from a textbook, he shares wisdom that can only be gained by living with the people and in this place. The adventure was not about an adrenaline rush repelling down 240 feet, crawling around caves, or tubing. Although we did these things the real adventure was letting go of the stress cords that bind me to society so I could connect with nature. The lunch prepared by Fernando's wife after was wonderful. Our own private adventure, no big crowds on this tour.

One of our primary motivations for visiting PR was to dive so it is ironic that our favorite experience took place in the mountains in the middle of the island. We booked the rappel and cave tube option with our 18 and 21 year old children. We had an absolute blast. Fernando and his team were committed to safety and education in addition to fun. To say they love to teach about their island would be an understatement. The caves and rivers were beautiful. The hiking was mildly difficult but the pay off was a one of a kind home cooked meal in a small family owned village. I encourage everyone to check out Tanama River Adventures!

To say this trip was F***ING AMAZING! Is an understatement. Fernando, Omar and Alex were great tour guides. Their priority is your experience, comfort and safety. These guys are a well-oiled machine when it comes to safety and knowing how to give you a good time. This place can be dangerous so without them; you may not come back alive (no joke). The tour is well organized and you see some amazing sites. It's a physical tour and a lot of water action. The 120 ft. Repel was awesome. The rivers, cave tours, waterfalls and cliff jumps are also highlights. If your a history buff like I am, you get that too! These people are extremely passionate about their Taino culture and want to spread the word. Well worth the the money! Will go again

Every time I turned around on this adventure, I felt like saying, "you've got to be kidding, that can't possibly be real!" The adventure started right away with the vehicle soaring up and down over the amazing hills (and steep roads), followed by a short hike down to the rappelling cliff (with a brief stop for some amazing oranges off the tree). Then rappelling, then tubing, then another amazing hike, then two more caves, a lovely capper of a climb out of the valley, and a satisfying home-cooked lunch. Much too much to fit in a few paragraphs.I heartily second the other comments about Fernando: he was born to do this. Warm, friendly, knowledgeable, and careful about safety (I watched how he handled the rappelling and his technique is sound).The four of us (including two kids 10 and 12) were in a largish group (14 total), but there were four guides total who were all great guys, so we never felt abandoned. Can't possibly recommend this enough.

Seriously the best experience of my life! We were so lucky to come upon Fernando, who owns and operates Tanama River Adventures. The cave tubing, hiking and rock repelling was of course amazing and beautiful in itself, however I don't think that the experience would have been half as wonderful if we did this tour with a different company. There are a bunch of companies that offer these tours but trust me, you want to go with Fernando. This incredible tour guide took the 3 of us, by himself, making it so much more intimate and special. He would stop and point out uniques plants and took us to a fresh water stream for drinking and even showed us a type of mud used for mud masks! Fernando is so genuinely passionate about the rainforest! He loves the rainforest and has dedicated his life to learning about it. He was eager to teach us about the flora and fauna, the animals and the mysteries of the area.At the end of the tour the owner's wife had a fabulous home cooked, traditional Puerto Rican lunch perpared for us....such sweet and genuinely kind hearted people! I will never forget this amazing experience!

My wife and I signed up for this trip after looking for something "different" to do on our second trip to Puerto Rico. We were not disappointed by Tanama River Adventures. The hikes and rappelling through the lush caves and rivers will give you the types of photos you usually see in movies or documentaries, but the guides ensure that you're safe the entire time.

Go for this excursion and you'll have wonderful memories of a most unique area of the world. Fernando was an exceptional guide! I had no intention of repelling but ended up doing so because my option sounded way more difficult and dangerous! So after a short hike from our truck, we repelled 45' down the side of a canyon wall. It's shocking and thrilling that I did it! Fernando insisted I could do this and gave me the confidence I initially lacked. It was a blast! As we hiked down and up in the canyon, waded/ swam, and tubed in the Mariposa River, tubing into the most unique cave system, we learned about plant life, the rocks, minerals and the geological makeup of this beautiful part of Puerto Rico. When we met Fernando at his office, he showed us his collection of fossils, minerals and an assortment of other items he found in the canyon. He spoke about his Taino culture-and his lifestyle which was fascinating. This trip is unlike any typical vacation excursion! There was a delicious hearty and typical Puerto Rican home cooked lunch served by Fernado's wife after our tour. Have fun and send our regards!

Derek was our guide. Very personable and knowledgable about the biology, the geology, and other -ologies that we encountered during our 4 hours of hiking, wading, tubing thru the trails, river, and caves. Very patient with the slower ones and solid emphasis on safety. And the meal provided at the end, prepared by someone in the community, was delicious.

Fernando was a wonderful guide. He loves what he does and it is contagious to those he guides.Strong attention was given to safety and much knowledge was shared about everything from geology and botany to anthropology. I can't express how much we enjoyed this trip. Fernando also made sure to take time explaining everything in English to me and my wife as we were the only ones who couldn't understand Spanish. Thanks is not enough Tanama River Adventures. This was an experience we will never forget.